Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson said Thursday the airline was still optimistic about summer demand despite COVID-19 and the emergence of the Omicron virus variant making for a challenging time at Christmas. Britain announced new measures on Saturday to try to slow the spread of the new variant, including a requirement that arrivals from all countries would have to self-isolate until receiving a negative COVID result from a PCR test. "We were hoping that the demand curve would really get going in January once we got through Christmas but then that had been sort of T-boned by the travel restrictions but we’re still optimistic about next summer, we can see it in terms of pent-up demand," Wilson told the World Aviation Festival in London. Earlier on Tuesday, Ryanair reported a November load factor of 86%, carrying 10.2 million passengers. "It’s going to be challenging for Christmas because it’s not necessarily going to be price led because people will feel the pressure not to travel for their own personal reasons," said Wilson. He said he did not expect the government to lift restrictions before Christmas. "Our focus is really on next summer," he added.<br/>
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UK investigators are examining whether lack of line flying, as a consequence of the pandemic, is directly linked to a serious go-around incident involving a TUI Airways Boeing 737-800 at Aberdeen. Neither pilot had flown for significant periods during the 18 months prior to the 11 September incident, and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch has highlighted the difficulty in using simulators as a substitute for the real-world pressures and workload of line flying. “Although the investigation has not established a link between this incident and a lack of recent line flying, it is clearly a possibility,” it states in a special bulletin. The aircraft (G-FDZF) had been operating from Palma de Mallorca to Aberdeen, and was preparing for a Cat I ILS approach to runway 34. Owing to the presence of a search-and-rescue helicopter, which was being given priority, the 737 pilots were warned they might have to discontinue the approach. This break-off instruction was confirmed at 2,600ft and the crew was told to climb to 3,000ft and turn left onto a heading of 270°. With the activation of go-around thrust, the single active autopilot disengaged. The aircraft began to climb from 2,250ft some 18s later and started its left turn. But before it reached 3,000ft it began to descend before the flight director had transitioned from ‘altitude acquisition’ to ‘altitude hold’ mode. Story has more.<br/>
State-owned Kazakh airline Air Astana is considering an IPO, according to four people familiar with the talks, who asked not to be identified as the information is not public. The company has approached banks, although talks are still at an early stage for a share sale, the people said. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that’s hit air travel around the globe could make the deal a difficult sell. There’s no certainty Air Astana will decide to proceed with a share sale next year, two of the people said. A spokesperson for Air Astana declined to comment, while its majority owner, sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, did not immediately respond to a query. Samruk-Kazyna, which owns 51% of Air Astana, said last year it plans to take the company public in 2022. UK defense firm BAE Systems controls the remaining 49%. The deal would be part of Kazakhstan’s long-delayed plan to privatize some of its biggest companies in order to attract investment and develop a financial hub in its capital Astana. The last public listing of a state-owned entity was Kazatomprom, the world’s largest producer of uranium, in London and Nur-Sultan in 2018. Global initial public offerings have smashed their previous record this year, with companies cashing in on high valuations. While Covid-19 hobbled the airline industry, last month Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates said it may sell shares as travel restrictions ease.<br/>
South African Airways said an amended business rescue plan for its low-cost subsidiary Mango was approved at a meeting of creditors on Thursday, paving the way for the airline to seek an equity partner. “According to the BR practitioners the process to secure a successful bidder, inclusive of concluding the relevant acquisition agreements, is anticipated to be completed by the end of March 2022,” SAA said. Business rescue is a form of bankruptcy protection in South Africa. <br/>
Emirates President Tim Clark sees its aviation hub business model as central to the airline's future despite the damage the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought upon parts of the travel industry. As one of the world's biggest long-haul carriers, Emirates has over the past 35 years transformed Dubai into a major gateway for international travellers and a tourism hub. Global demand remains "hugely resilient" despite the pandemic and such crises can increase market segmentation as happened in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis and the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, Clark said. "That's probably not what people are saying out there. But I can tell you that is the fact for Emirates. It's so, each time we have a global trauma, it creates new segments for us," he said. "And this includes the corporate segments, which everybody says that are over now ... We have never shared that view." Clark said he expected Emirates to continue with the hub model and for it to grow "at pace beyond the pandemic". "Well, you could never say never. But as long as I'm here, that's not going to happen (rethinking the model)," he said. "It gives enormous economic power to the countries and they benefit from that from the private sector to the state which takes its share of the cake through the taxation regimes that are imposed," Clark added. Story has more.<br/>
The new owners of once-bankrupt Jet Airways India are in talks with Boeing Co and Airbus to purchase at least 100 narrow body jets for the carrier’s fleet in a bid to revive what used to be the biggest private airline in the South Asian nation before it collapsed under a pile of debt. The winning bidders for Jet Airways in a state-run bankruptcy resolution process -- Dubai-based, Indian-origin businessman Murari Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch, the chairman of London-based financial advisory and alternative asset manager Kalrock Capital Management -- plan to start flights in the first three months of next year, Ankit Jalan, a representative for the consortium, said in an interview. The group will invest around Rs 1,500 crore ($200m) via equity and debt in the airline over the next six months, half a year earlier than originally planned, Jalan, who is Murari Lal’s nephew, said earlier this week. The potential revival of Jet Airways, which forced creditors to take a 95% haircut, will be the first for any airline under India’s bankruptcy laws and will intensify competition in one of the world’s most cut-throat aviation markets. Founded by ticketing agent-turned-entrepreneur Naresh Goyal after India ended a state monopoly on aviation in the early 1990s, Jet Airways became popular among fliers as an attractive alternative to Air India, offering full-service flights to cities including London and Singapore, before a bunch of low-cost airlines ushered in cheap fares for no-frills services. “The reaction that we saw of the Jet Airways brand coming back was motivation in itself,” said 37-year old Jalan. “That’s exactly why Jet is coming back; to serve the loyal fan base, to serve the people who miss Jet.”<br/>
AirAsia Group chief executive Tony Fernandes has urged governments to stop “overreacting” to the emergence of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 and focus on reducing the cost of PCR testing instead. “It’s a huge overreaction. We don’t know anything about this variant yet. Let’s wait and see before we jump the gun,” Fernandes said Thursday. The chief executive of the low-cost carrier said the world is more equipped and better prepared to deal with Omicron — first detected in South Africa — than previous strains. “There are Merck pills, and Pfizer pills are coming out. We are vaccinated. There are boosters available. I’m feeling much more bullish, and I am not doom and gloom,” he said. “Governments need to use common sense and see what is needed. I think travel restrictions and [such measures] are temporary, and the world is global. No matter how much we close the borders, the viruses will travel.” He criticised the pricing and frequency of the PCR tests required by many governments, including Thailand, when travellers enter their borders. He said this risks deterring passengers from taking a vacation despite the pent-up demand to venture overseas. “No government has looked at the cost of the PCR test. PCR tests in Southeast Asia are extremely [expensive]. It’s unfair for passengers to pay that kind of cost. Of course, we want to be safe, but make it as simple as possible.” He praised Thailand for planning to reduce some of these charges and procedures. “Thailand is ahead of the rest of Asean, which are still quite draconian," he said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.<br/>
VietJet Aviation will launch direct services between three of Vietnam’s cities and the Russian capital Moscow from mid-2022, its first-ever direct flights to Europe, the airline said on Thursday. The flights will connect Moscow with Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang, from July 3, using Airbus A330 aircraft, VietJet said. VietJet said last month it would take delivery here of up to three leased A330 widebodies as part of the airline's fleet development plan. <br/>
State-owned charter carrier Hornbill Skyways is to set up a boutique airline in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, located in northwest Borneo Island, to provide air access, drive tourism, and boost agricultural exports, according to Sarawak’s caretaker chief minister, Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg. He made the remarks at the launch event of a new MYR108 million ringgit (US$25.5m) short take-off and landing airport in Bebuling, Spaoh on November 30, reports the Malaysian national news agency, Bernama. Popularly known as Abang Johari, the minister said Sarawak needed its own small airline – with aircraft carrying about 100 to 200 passengers – in order to not be dependent on other commercial carriers to meet its demand for export of agricultural products, and the promotion of travel and tourism. He added the airline's operations would be hub focused. The initial plan was to provide direct flights from Sarawak to Kuala Lumpur Int'l, Singapore Changi, Thailand, Indonesia, and Hong Kong Int'l.<br/>